Hope Without the Whispers Within
by Bayou Bebe
Summary: Non Hunter AU. Sam Winchester thought he had everything going for him, until he was diagnosed with Paranoid Schizophrenia. As he descends deeper into his hallucinations he is tortured with hallucinations of the Devil Himself, his only relieve being the care from our favorite Trickster. Features Samifer and Sabriel.


Victor Pierce got out of his Audi, his shoes gleaming with new boot black, wool suit carefully pressed and tailored to show off his lean form as he made his way towards the door of the local steakhouse and smirked when he saw Sam Winchester fidgeting in the lobby. "Sam?" He asked as he approached the boy. He was very tall, dwarfing Victor's 5'9 frame and yet looked completely unsure of his space. He was wearing a suit, though it was obviously not a high quality.

Sam swallowed hard and moved forward, his eyes sliding off to the side just for a moment then refocusing. "Mr. Pierce! Hi, it's nice to meet you, uh, I'm Sam Winchester." Nice, Sam, he thought to himself. Stammer a little more, could you? He extended his hand to shake the other man's, willing his hand not to shake as he tried to push away his headache and focus on this interview. He knew he was qualified for the job, but he couldn't help thinking about how very badly he needed to get it. The urgency was overriding his usual confidence.

Victor grinned. Aww he was nervous! "Of course you are." He agreed with an assuring smile, "Did they not seat you?" He asked in concern as he shook Sam's hand and clapped him on the shoulder then guided him forward to the hostess counter to immediately get seated. It paid to have an account. "So how's Stanford been treating you? I hear you're this year's valedictorian? Congratulations." He said with a grin as he ordered two scotches on rocks. He took a moment to watch Sam. He was a bit shaky, almost as if he was having the smallest problem keeping focused on what they were doing. He had heard wonderful things about the boy though so he pushed it out of his mind. Nerves.

"Thank you, Sir. It's treating me very well, although I'm definitely looking forward to getting out into the world and using what it's given me to make a difference." He smiled gratefully at the pretty waitress who set the drinks down in front of the men and took a slow sip of his. It was okay, he could do this. Mr. Pierce seemed like a reasonable enough man. He was just glad the headaches he'd been having all month weren't there today.

Victor grinned and took a hearty sip. "Enough of the Sir crap. I'm Victor or Vic. Look, let's cut to the chase shall we? I've talked to a few of your Deans and they all say the same thing. You're a catch Sam. Exactly what Bigsby Pierce and Mosen are looking for. I've seen your mock court tapes and I think you'll make a damn good lawyer, amazing LSATs I have no doubt you'll pass the bar with flying colors. We want to offer you a position." He said then took another sip. "Now, it will suck at first, long hours, no days off, limited vacation for a while but give it a good year, continue to prove yourself indispensable and I think we'll be talking Junior Partner in no time." He said with a smirk.

Sam's jaw dropped. "J...junior partner?" he stammered. "In a year or so?" Sam took another sip of his drink to steady himself as his mind raced. His expression was a little blank but he quickly responded, "I'm prepared for the work, Si...I mean, Victor, I promise you that," Sam said eagerly. "If you're willing to take a chance on me...I'll do my best not to let you down." He could barely believe what he'd been hearing. Bigsby, Pierce, and Mosen was one of the top law firms in the city, and putting in his application package there had been a shot in the dark for Sam. He'd hoped at best to get an interview, resulting in a quick 'thanks but try again when you've got some experience under your belt'. He'd never allowed himself to even consider the current situation.

Sam bit back on the enthusiasm. "Um... Victor there's... when you say no vacation time or days off... my wife Jess she's expecting..."

Victor held up a hand. "Look on the record we don't give jobs to people who can't commit." He said seriously. "And if you were anyone else I'd be walking out but I think we can work around a short Paternity leave." He said firmly. "And I'm sure you're wondering about job security with the family so..." He reached into his suit jacket and wrote down something on his cocktail napkin with an engraved silver fountain pen and slid it over. "Our offer. It's just a low starting salary of course although bonuses are generous and fairly frequent." He promised.

Sam looked down at the napkin and swallowed hard. 120 grand for a starting salary? It was more than he'd ever thought possible for a first job. And to be allowed time off to be with Jess and the baby after the baby was born? It seemed almost too good to be true. Sam took a deep breath and another sip of his scotch as he rolled the idea around in his head for a moment, hoping desperately he didn't seem ungrateful for the offer.

Victor smirked. "So what do you say Sam?" He asked with a smile as the waitress came up to take their orders. "I'll have the filet mignon, medium with the loaded potato and asparagus." Victor orders and then gives Sam an expectant look. He always loved watching the college students open the menu's here. His entre was 95 alone, the scotches were 15 a piece and the cheapest meal in the house was 65. Grad students always looked a bit panicked when they saw them. But Victor was here to show them that this was chump change, and that life with the firm came with wonderful benefits.

Sam tried not to choke when he opened the menu. He and Jess were sharing a house with two other couples, their monthly food budget was 300 dollars and the lunch today looked like it was going to be nearly that by itself. Its okay, Sam, its okay, you got this, he thought to himself. "The New York strip please, medium rare with the garlic mashed potatoes and broccoli," he said with a shaky smile that one was 75 dollars alone, the entirety of his weekly food budget. When the waitress walked away with a nod and a smile, he turned back to Victor. "I...accept. Thank you, Victor. I promise to do my best to make the firm proud."

Victor smiled and began talking over the basics of where they went from there but Sam was minutely distracted, heart still racing by the soft faint sound of someone clapping. He nodded and sipped the rest of the watered down scotch before looking around to find the culprit. They were the only ones there. He brushed it away and refocused on Victor, answering his question about when the bar exam was, there was a sudden wave of dizziness, a soft mumble of a whisper faintly promising to return then the voice was gone.


End file.
